LarryNelson: “The Entire City Has Improved”
IncumbentNelson said he’d like to serve another term because he’s “in the middle ofthings,” including, most prominently, Waukesha’s proposed water request tosolve the city’s long-standing radium problem in its deep wells, which must besolved by June 2018. Nelson said Lake Michigan water is the most cost-effectiveand environmentally sensitive solution to Waukesha’swater problems. The request and any resulting agreement would have to beapproved by Wisconsin as well as the sevenother states that signed the Great Lakes Compact to protect the water resourcesof the Great Lakes region. The compact, signedby two Canadian provinces in addition to the eight U.S.states, promotes water conservation and aims to ban other states and foreigncountries from tapping into the water supply of the Great Lakes.
“Asuccessful Waukeshaapplication would show that the compact works,” Nelson said. “And to besuccessful they’d have to follow Waukesha’slead.”
Nelson said Waukesha has alreadydecreased its water use by 11% over the last four years even as the city hasgrown. He said the other alternatives have been thoroughly studied for eightyears, and Lake Michigan water is the best wayto solve the radium problem and provide a cost-effective and sustainable watersource for the growing community in the decades to come. He said that thisexample of regional cooperation, along with the steady supply of water, wouldhelp attract more businesses and residents to the community.
Milwaukee isone source of Lake Michigan water, although criticslike challenger Scrimahavecharged that an agreement with Milwaukeecomes with too many strings.
“Unfortunately,there are people in both communities that don’t realize that it’s in bothcommunities’ self-interest to work in ways that benefit the region,” Nelsonsaid.
Nelson saidhe’s proud of his economic development record, which includes new retaildevelopments built on already existing commercial plots“good examples ofinfill developments” that are environmentally sensitive, Nelson saidas well asthe renaissance of the historic downtown area. He said the community’s supportof the arts, as well as its diversity, have drawn more people to the city, bothas residents and visitors.
The mayorsaid his tax increases have been lower than the increases of Waukesha’sthree previous mayors, even though flat shared revenue from the state as wellas the recession have taken their toll on Wisconsinmunicipalities.
Nelson saidhe’s campaigning hard to beat Scrima on April 6. He said Scrima has a lack ofexperience in government as well as concrete details about what he’d do asmayor. The former teacher said he’d like to serve another four years tocontinue building on what the city has set into motion during the past fouryears.
“I askvoters to compare the Waukesha of 2006 to Waukesha of 2010,” Nelsonsaid. “I think they will agree that the entire city has improved.”
To learnmore about Larry Nelson, go to nelsonformayor.com.
JeffScrima: “We Need to Take a More Proactive Approach”
Waukesha native Scrima launched Canterbury Realtyseven years ago, which led to his involvement with the business improvementdistrict.
“I’ve beenable to see City Hall up close,” Scrima said. “And I realized that the thingswe were trying to do to promote business and bring people into the communitywould best happen if it was from the top down.”
Scrima said Waukesha’s relatively high taxes deter individuals andbusinesses from locating in Waukesha.He said he’d find efficiencies in the city’s budget, although he didn’t havespecific proposals for cuts.
“My plan,once I get in there, is to do a careful evaluation from the inside,” Scrimasaid.
Scrima saidhe’d like to attract more employers to the city by providing more tax relief tobusinesses.
“I think weneed to take a more proactive approach in reaching out to people in thiscommunity and business owners to see what their concerns and needs are,” Scrimasaid.
He said thatWaukesha shouldn’t rush into an agreement forLake Michigan water with, possibly, Milwaukee.
“We havemultiple water sources,” Scrima said. “Lake Michigan is one of those sources,but there are a lot of unknowns as far as what it’s going to cost the citizensof Waukesha.”
He said thatthe 2018 radium deadline doesn’t have to be met by receiving water from Lake Michigan. The city already has radium removaldevices on its deep wells; it could do more to conserve water; and the Fox River could be tapped for a source, he suggested.
He saidregional water studies that advocate a water sale are not necessarily in Waukesha’s bestinterests. He said Nelson is close to people in Milwaukee,which has resulted in favoring Milwaukeeas a source of water.
“Milwaukee has come outand said that they see this as a great opportunity to make money and theypassed a resolution in which they want to attach strings to the water bill,”Scrima said. “I’m not necessarily opposed to Milwaukee water. But they need to tell usupfront that they’re going to sell it to us at a fair price and get rid of thatresolution.”
Scrima saidhis business experience and studies of retail and economic development willhelp if he is elected mayor.
“We havetough problems in the city right now and the first step in addressing a toughproblem is to ask a tough question,” Scrima said.
To learnmore about Jeff Scrima, go to scrimaformayor.com, which is set to relaunch thisweek.
